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126,000 Online Gambling Accounts and Counting in New Jersey

Wednesday, January 1st, 2014

file4741238088930New Jersey first launched online gambling for everyone in the state on November 26th. Players quickly began signing up for gaming accounts at the different websites available and as of this past weekend, over 126,000 have been created.  Players have continued to sign up for an account over the past month, giving the state of New Jersey the top spot for online gambling in the US.

The state of New Jersey offers not only online poker gaming but also online casino games which gives them a leg up against the state of Nevada, who only offers online poker gaming. The 126,000+ accounts are impressive, but the official numbers for how many of these accounts are for unique gamblers still remains a mystery. Players can sign up for different sites so one player may have several accounts, which will have to be considered in a more particular count.

As of this past Sunday the online gaming account total was at over 126,231, which is just over 16,000 accounts more than the previous week. This is a significant increase and shows that gamblers are interested in online game play. Several casinos in the state have created online gaming sites, these include:

Trump Plaza

Tropicana Casino and Resort

Borgata

Trump Taj Mahal

Bally’s Atlantic City

Golden Nugget

Caesars Atlantic City

When it comes to online poker in The Garden State, it is the Party Borgata Network that reigns supreme. This network has around 240 players on a seven day average for cash game play. This is relatively fifty percent of the market and solidifies the company as a top provider for online poker gaming. So far, the state of New Jersey is the dominate state when it comes to online gambling in the US, though there are only 3 states total in the market. However, 2014 may see many changes and more states may pass legislation and become competition for NJ online casinos.

 

 

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Cabbie Finds and Returns $300,000 to Poker Player

Thursday, December 26th, 2013

Cab drivers often find belongings that have been left behind by passengers, especially in larger cities. Gerado Gamboa has worked as a cab driver in Las Vegas for many years and has found many different items left behind. Earlier this week, the cab driver found the most expensive item ever. $300,000 was left behind in his cab, in a discreet brown paper bag.

Gamboa was picking up a hotel doorman at the Bellagio, who he usually picks up, this past Monday when the doorman handed him a paper bag which was left in the back. The doorman figured the item was chocolate and thought he might be able to take some to his wife. However as the cab drivers curiosity got the better of him, he realized the item was not chocolate but a large sum of money!

Gamboa found six stacks of $100 bills which totaled $300,000! The cab driver could not believe the amount of money in the bag. He then began to think back as to who the money could belong to. He remembers dropping off a passenger at Palms Place and earned a $5 tip. He did not notice the paper bag until later that morning.

Someone showed up at the cab company of Gamboa, Yellow Checker Star, to claim the cash, but it was not the same person the casino had on file as a recent winner of $300,000. The cab company asked the police for help to make sure the cash was given back to the rightful owner. The police and the casino were able to find the rightful owner and the cash was quickly returned.

Gamboa never thought once about taking the cash. The cab driver stated that even though he is a poor guy, he does not need money that does not belong to him.

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2014 Dates Announced for WSOP

Friday, December 20th, 2013

The World Series of Poker Main Event may have finished up just over a month ago, but that does not stop the organization from preparing for 2014. The World Series of Poker has now announced the schedule for the new season of the popular poker series. The summer festival will be in its 45th session and will begin on the 27th of May.

The Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino will host the event in Las Vegas and this will be the tenth year in a row that the Rio has hosted the event consecutively. For forty nine days, the WSOP will host a number of events with the first event kicking off at the end of May and the Main Event beginning on July 5th. The main event will run for a ten day time frame until the final table is set.

There will be many highlights for players to check out in 2014. This includes the Millionaire Maker which will take place on the 31st of May. This tournament will have a buy-in of $1,500 and will offer the first place finisher a prize of at least seven figures.

The Big One for One Drop is back, scheduled for June 29gth, and will have a $1 million buy-in. the format will be no limit hold’em and will help to raise money for the One Drop charity. There will also be a scaled down version of this event called the Little One for One Drop.

Only a few events have been released and the full schedule for the 2014 WSOP is being finalized. There should be more than sixty events with gold bracelets awarded and in January, the schedule should be released. An interesting side note: with online gambling options in the US now, the sites available should offer players an opportunity to qualify for WSOP events.

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Virginia Senator Files Casino Gaming Bill

Wednesday, December 18th, 2013

Louise Lucas is a Senator in the state of Virginia who would like to see the state become involved in the gambling industry. Virginia is one of only ten states that do not have a casino within its borders. Lucas has now filed a casino gaming bill to be considered during the 2014 General Assembly.

The new bill is titled Senate Bill 19 and would allow the creation of a state Casino Gaming Commission and create guidelines for licensing in the state for casino game play. In the past, Lucas has created bills for casino creation and was unsupported. Now that Maryland has expanded their gaming options and players from Virginia will be taking money out of state, Lucas is hoping to gain more support.

The legislation states that ninety percent of the gaming tax revenues would go to help with the cost of toll roads in Virginia. In estimations, it was believed that $113 million could be brought in with almost 2,000 jobs created. However, Lucas is in for a fight. It seems as though most are not ready to enter the casino side of gambling, although the state already has charity gaming, lottery and pari-mutuels.

William Howell is the House Speaker for Virginia and he recently spoke with the Washington Post and commented that he believes the negative human impact outweighs the potential impact of the economy. Howell further stated that he does not believe the casinos are the right thing for the commonwealth.

Without the addition of casinos, Virginia would continue to be one of a select few that does not offer this type of recreational entertainment. And with states nearby that offer the option, Virginia is sure to miss out on revenues. It will be interesting to see if the Senator will be able to receive backing to bring this type of gambling to the state.

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New Partnership May Result in New Casino Resort with a Sports Flare

Wednesday, December 11th, 2013

In the United States, there has never been a major sports team to partner with a gaming casino. Most teams try to stay away from any type of wagering due to strict regulations within the sporting organization. However, this may soon change if the Florida Panthers owner follows through with a recent partnership.

The Panthers is owned by the Sunrise Sports & Entertainment company. Sunrise recently partnered with Boyd Gaming Corporation which is based in Las Vegas. The two would work together to create a hotel and casino in the state that would be located near the BB&T Center, which is the home of the NHL team.

The new proposal by the two companies was recently pitched at a Senate Gaming Committee hearing and they now await approval. The proposal would be for a casino resort that is unlike the traditional offering. This one would include a convention center as well as focus mainly on gaming instead of a split between gaming and retail.

Keith Smith is the CEO and President of Boyd Gaming and he recently commented on the new partnership by stating the new proposal would allow the two companies to take advantage  of the potential development opportunity in the location which is very attractive and holds great potential. Smith believes the area is the ideal location since it is already high in visitor traffic.

Boyd Gaming already has several properties across the United States. The company reaches to eight states and has several properties in these states. It will be interesting to see if the partnership is approved and how well the new casino resort area will be received if approved. Boyd seems to be very successful so the entire endeavor, if approved, should do quite well. If the two do end up creating a casino it would also be interesting to see how the NHL team might be integrated in the casino resort.

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Players Continue to Register for Online Game Play in New Jersey

Wednesday, December 4th, 2013

Nevada may have seen less than stellar numbers when it comes to online poker game play, but players in New Jersey are not shy about online gambling. The state has seen signups continue since the trial launch on the 21st of November and now over 50,000 accounts exist in the state.

Since this past Friday, over 14,000 accounts have been created by online gamblers and the state is hoping that players continue to log on and gamble. Since the 25th of November, six casinos in the state of New Jersey have offered online gambling options. The following casinos are live with online options:

Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa

Trump Taj Mahal Casino Resort

Trump Plaza Hotel and Casino

Tropicana Casino and Resort

Bally’s Atlantic City

Caesars Atlantic City

Now the Golden Nugget in Atlantic City should be going live soon and possibly this week, if the problems the company has experienced are repaired. This week marks the second full week that the state will offer online gambling and more data should be available over the coming weeks with bets placed, accounts and more.

The state even saw 5,000 new accounts created on Thanksgiving Day. Gamblers either had time to log on and check out the online casinos or turkey day led to major boredom and players wanted to place a few bets. Either way the numbers were good and the state’s gambling division is expected to release the initial figure reports starting in January.

The expansion in New Jersey makes the state the third in the US to offer online gambling options as well as the first time the state has expanded in such a capacity. The state first began to offer gambling in 1978 and has since become one of the most popular gambling destinations in the US.

 

 

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PokerStars Launches Shark Cage Event

Friday, November 29th, 2013

PokerstarsTop online poker site, PokerStars, has announced they are launching a new television show based on poker game play. The Shark Cage is a new television show that PokerStars has created to pit poker legends and Team PokerStars Pros against each other and PokerStars is even giving amateurs an opportunity to compete.

The Shark Cage is now offering qualifiers so players can try to earn their spot in this special competition. The new poker show will have eight heats. Each heat will be filmed during EPT events and each heat will feature five pros and a qualifier from online. Each group will compete for one spot in the final tournament. The final table will be competing for $1 million in a winner-take-all format.

PokerStars is hosting qualifiers as well as a Casting event. A video audition can be sent to PokerStars to see if you can make it on the show. The online poker site is looking for people who are outstanding in their personality, enthusiasm and humorous. The casting videos can be sent to YouTube and then the link sent to PokerStars to be considered. The date for submission ends on December 8th.

The Shark Cage will be filmed in different locations including the Bahamas, Barcelona and Monaco. The final will take place in London. A great cast of characters will be competing in the heats and game play is sure to be exciting. Players will be competing against the clock as every player will have only thirty seconds to make a move on each street, which means game play will move very quickly!

Players will also be sent to the Shark Cage if they fall for a bluff on the river and this player will miss a go round in the tournament. If the bluff is called, the bluffer will be sent to the Shark Cage and the player who calls will earn a few bonus chips!

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California Casino Added to World Poker Tour Schedule

Wednesday, November 27th, 2013

Earlier this week it was announced that a California casino was added to the XII season of the World Poker Tour. The Thunder Valley Casino Resort will host an event in March of next year with the new tour stop title WPT Thunder Valley. This stop will equal three events in the state of California for players to enjoy.

The L.A. Poker Classic and the Bay 101 Shooting Star event are common stops on the World Poker Tour and Thunder Valley is hoping to become a regular stop as well. Adam Pliska is the President of the World Poker Tour and he stated that now that Thunder Valley is on the schedule, the WPT has created a California swing that will make in-state transportation easy. Not only can players enjoy the tournament events but also take in the sites and beauty of California as they travel from tournament to tournament.

This setup has been use with many different tournaments to allow for easy travel and the hope that players will just follow the tour, keeping the player numbers up. With players traveling, the fields will continue to feature pros and more players may show up to follow the progress of the tour.

The XII season of the World Poker Tour now heads to the Party Poker Montreal event starting on the 29th of November. The season continues and the California stop will be a nice event to the tour and it will be interesting to see how players enjoy the new stop and if it will become a staple to the World Poker Tour.

Players can view the full schedule with event dates, stops, buy-ins game types and more information by visiting the World Poker Tour website. Every stop on the tour is listed so players can go ahead and make plans to compete.

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Tennis Star to Play Live for Very First Time

Thursday, November 21st, 2013

PokerstarsTop online poker room PokerStars is known for sponsoring poker pros, celebrities and sports stars in online and live game play. The site likes to work with players in all walks of life and feature such players in live gaming events. Rafael Nadal is a popular tennis star that is known for dominating the court. The tennis pro has been working with PokerStars for some time now, since June 2012 and has yet to compete in his first live poker event. This will all change on December 12th when Nadal competes in a European Poker Tour event.

Nadal first came to the online poker room in 2012 and plays online regularly. However, he has yet to play in his first live event. This will change during the European Poker Tour stop in Prague. Nadal will be competing in a charity tournament on December 12th and will compete up against top pros and competitors.

PokerStars reported that Nadal will be competing against some of the biggest names in the international professional poker circuit as well as with other sports stars. The additional sports stars competing will be released by PokerStars over the next few weeks. Nadal commented on the live event by stating: “I have been playing poker online for almost 18 months and now I’m looking forward to the challenge of playing my first live tournament.”

Nadal additionally stated that it is no secret that he loves competition and that is why he likes the game of poker. The game is one of skill and it requires the player to have mental strength and use mental ability to outthink the other players. He compares these aspects to tennis. The tennis store has reportedly hired a coach for poker and has made many improvements in the game. The sports star is sure to use what he has learned to do well in the upcoming tournament.

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Weekend Deadline for FTP Claim Filing

Thursday, November 14th, 2013

For months now players have been working through the repayment process at Full Tilt Poker. Former players from the US who were involved with Full Tilt and had their funds frozen have now been filing claims with the Garden City Group to be repaid. Players now have until this weekend to file their claim before the deadline.

The deadline set by the Garden City Group is for November 16th , which is this Saturday, and players must make their claim before this date. Back in September, the company was hired by the Department of Justice to be able to facilitate the repayment process. The group first started by reviewing the data and then began to make different announcements, explaining the process to players and how they need to go about filing.

According to the Garden City Group, there were over 1.4 million emails sent out to former Full Tilt Players to try and complete the remission process. Poker Players Alliance has kept track of the progress of the remission process and according to the group, close to 35,000 petitions were filed as of now.

Payouts should be taking place in 2014, during the first part of the year. The Garden City Group will now need to review the claims and see if the information given by players lines up with the information that they have on file. This may take some time, but the projected repayment process should take place in the first quarter of next year.

This has been a very long process, first beginning in April of 2011. It seems as though the process may official by over by 2014, which could be three years after the process began. Players are surely ready to receive their money after having it hold for so much time. We will continue to follow this process and see if and when players will be paid the money that is rightfully theirs.

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